Chapter 12
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In the desolate mountains, far from human habitation, the distant darkness was occasionally pierced by the mournful cries of nocturnal foxes.
The dilapidated, partially collapsed thatched hut had a flickering fire burning inside. Occasionally, sparks would leap up into the air. Within the hut, the snoring of the eight men was loud, and a few steps away from them, illuminated by the firelight, the youth quietly turned the pages of the book <Emerald Heart Dream Nourishment> in his hands.
There was a soft rustling sound.
The pages turned under his fingers, and the dim firelight cast a faint shadow on Lu Liangsheng’s face, which was frowning slightly.
“This book contains methods that are completely opposite to the ones described in <Southern Waters Collection of Lost Arts>. Most are methods to drive away insects and beasts, or rejuvenating withered trees. Master, if we could use these techniques in our village, it would be beneficial, right?”
He turned his head towards the bundle leaning against the wall, noticing no response, and called out softly.
“Master?”
The wind from the forest outside carried a rustling sound, and the eight men sleeping on the floor stirred slightly. One of them, the leader of this trip and a hunter from the village, stood up, stood up. The hunters in the village were quite sensitive to the wind and movements in the grass within the mountains.
“Uncle Pan, what’s the matter?” Lu Liangsheng asked, holding his book and rising to his feet.
Lu Pan walked to the window, where a dusty spider web hung and swayed. His gaze was focused, and from this vantage point, the outside was completely dark. At some point, the starlight and moonlight overhead had been obscured by clouds.
He then furrowed his brow deeply: “I feel like there’s something outside, seems like it’s coming down from the mountain…”
The forest rustled softly, and the wind stirred the flames, causing them to flicker. The other seven men also woke up, sensing the tension in the air, and began to grab their hunting knives or hatchets.
One of the tall, thin villagers whispered: “Could it be a giant insect?”
“We can handle a giant insect with our numbers, but if we encounter a pack of wolves, we’ll be in trouble.”
Lu Pan’s words inevitably heightened the tension among the group. They were all mountain people, and they knew well in their hearts that no matter whether they encountered a giant insect or a pack of wolves, neither was a good sign.
The night forest was eerily quiet, with only the occasional rustle of unknown wild creatures moving through the thick layer of fallen leaves, adding to the atmosphere of mystery and tension.
Lu Pan tightened his grip on his knife and turned towards the crooked door, pushing it open with a faint creak.
“We’ll go out and check it out. Liangsheng, stay inside the hut. Don’t go out no matter what you hear.”
The other seven exchanged glances and gave Lu Liangsheng a few final instructions.
“Liangsheng, there are many poisonous insects and wild beasts at night. Don’t go outside…” “When we get back, I’ll give you a piece of wolf hide.” “Take good care of the luggage, make sure we don’t lose our food.”
“Move quickly, if we return soon, we can get a bit more sleep.”
Amidst their chatter, the seven men followed Lu Pan and disappeared into the night. Lu Liangsheng closed the door behind them, walked back to the corner, and opened the bundle, finding no trace of the toad.
He sat back by the fire picked up the book from the ground, watching the flickering flames.
“Where is Master? Could it be that he was worried about Uncle Pan and others and followed them out?”
As he frowned, a draft from the window stirred and drifted into the forest. In the darkness, the silhouette of trees swayed one after another. The short toad had crossed the stream and was running frantically into the woods.
“Damn it, even a mere little demon dares to bully me.”
The sense warts in his back glowed purple. As it passed a large tree, it suddenly turned around and sprayed a puff of light purple smoke at the massive black shadow pursuing it. The smoke shot through the air like an arrow, and an eerie, sharp hiss followed. There was a roar and several trees were uprooted, their dense foliage crashing down with a loud noise.
The Purple Star Daoist was blown to the ground by a sudden gust of wind. As it scrambled to its feet, the creeping black shadow had a scarred shell right in the middle of its head.
Amidst the angry buzzing of insects, the shadow’s long antennae swept through the air furiously. The toad darted away, barely stopping as a tree was violently snapped in half, splinters flying everywhere.
The Toad Daoist had already run a considerable distance away.
“Once my cultivation recovers, I will come back to settle the score with you—”
Down the mountain, in the darkness of the forest, a group of people who had gone out to investigate were heading towards the source of the disturbance.
In the dim light, they whispered to each other.
“…Is there no movement anymore?”
“Something definitely passed through here just now…”
“Better to be cautious.”
At that moment, a black shadow darted past beneath the eight people’s feet. The tall, thin man instinctively dodged and leaned against his companions.
“Something just went by.”
Lu Pan turned around and said: “It might have been a fox…”
Just as he spoke, the mountain forest above erupted with a chaotic noise. Trees swayed violently, and countless birds flew out in panic, swirling darkly above the forest.
“What is that?!” Someone shouted in alarm.
“It’s coming this way!”
In the span of two breaths, Lu Pan, gripping his hunting knife, was covered in cold sweat, his gaze fixed ahead, the plants and trees shook widely as numerous insects feet crawled over them. Its dark red segmented shells writhing and twisting, entering the group’s view.
“Centipede—”
“A monster!”
At the moment of the panicked shouting, some people leaped away to escape. Lu Pan almost instinctively swung his hunting knife. He didn’t know where he had struck, but a crisp sound rang out, like striking iron, with sparks flying. His wrist was so numb that he was nearly unable to hold the knife. He stumbled back a few steps, while a line of long legs passed by his face almost touching his nose.
“My heavens…”
Only then did Lu Pan see how massive the creature was, and he was so frightened that he screamed in fright and fell to the ground. However, the huge body of the creature paid no attention to them and disappeared into the forest with a gust of foul wind, leaving only the surrounding branches still shaking.
A few leaves drifted down.
Shaken and unsettled, Lu Pan shakily got up from the ground and spoke with a trembling voice: “Are you all okay? Did anyone get hurt?!”
Around him, his companions gradually responded one after another. They were mostly unharmed but somewhat shaken and limp, unable to speak clearly.
“That’s good…”
Lu Pan calmed his breathing but suddenly turned around.
“Oh no!! Liangsheng is still in the hut.”
The others quickly realized the gravity of the situation and looked toward Lu Pan and then in the direction of the hut.
“Boss Lu, what should we do… should we go back?”
Lu Pan’s cheeks were bulging, his eyes flashing with a complicated expression. After a moment’s hesitation, he said: “We are Liangsheng’s elders after all. If we run away, we’ll be criticized. Let’s go! Go back—”
Down the mountain, on the gentle slope, and at the partially collapsed hut.
Inside, the young man sitting with a book in hand, his shadow cast on the wall by the flickering firelight, was softly reading aloud. Occasionally, he closed his eyes to memorize what he had read.
The burned-out firewood popped with sparks, and when he opened his eyes, there was a trace of worry in them.
“Why haven’t they come back yet…”
Moments later, amidst the sound of the wind outside, there was a series of clattering noises. A short, dark figure squeezed through a hole in the wall.
“Master?”
The Purple Star Daoist, without saying a word, kicked off with his legs and swiftly slid into a bag of items next to the wall, stretching out a frog-like webbed hand to seal the opening.
Meanwhile, Lu Liangsheng blinked. Just as he stood up, the cobwebs on the window were blown sideways by the wind, and dust settled on his face.
“Cough cough…”
The young man waved his book to clear the dust and then smelled a fishy smell, tatatata… A series of dense, eerie knocking sounds, making his scalp tingle, began to echo as if something was crawling closer.
Lu Liangsheng pulled his gaze away from the bag and turned to look outside.
Beyond the window frame, a pair of red lanterns descended from mid-air and stared inside, locking eyes with the young man.
At that moment, the insect chirping in the corner of the wall suddenly ceased.
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